Greening Zimbabwe Hotels – Re-Inventing the Tourism and Hospitality Industry 

Tinashe Banda, a driver at a local lodge in Victoria Falls drives 4 times a week to nearby local suppliers to buy vegetables needed for food preparations at the lodge. Opting for local produce is regarded as one of the best practises in greening hotels. Banda, who is also a community environmental activist says, using local produce gives guests a greater flavour of their tourist destination. It also protects the environment from air pollution caused by emissions from trucks that travel long distances to deliver the same produce. “Driving long distances is not commendable, given the fumes from vehicles which pollute the environment. Greening hotels is a process which involves everything in the value chain,” Banda says.

The resort city of Victoria Falls remains one the world’s favourite tourist’s destination. Mosi-a-Tunya or the ‘Falls’ are the major attraction, being one of the world’s 7 natural wonders. The city is naturally positioning itself to offer attractive initiatives which tourists find hospitable and welcoming. Green hotels are hotels which are environmentally-friendly and adopt to water and energy conservation measures. Thembelani Ncube, an environmentalist says, greening hotels has made thousands of tourists to visit Victoria Falls more than once.

“In the new economy, environmentally friendly policies have become a central issue for firms. The increasing attention given to the benefits of those policies has prompted research on the development of environmental management systems that encourage employees to engage in environmental activities,” Ncube explains.

Eco-consciousness is becoming a priority for many businesses, focusing on more environmentally sustainable ways of doing business. Hotels are trying to reduce their environmental impacts through eco-friendly best-practices in maintenance work and services offered. Environmentalists say, when hotels go green, they pose less damage to the environment, lower operational and incidental costs and most importantly goodwill from guests. 

According to the Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, the hotel industry contributes about 1% of carbon emissions released globally. The alliance notes that hotels must be at the forefront in reducing carbon emissions by 2030 in the fight against climate change.

Eco friendly hotel trends are now emerging in more hotels across the world, from reducing water usage to larger scale projects to reduce carbon emissions, and various practises adopted in greening hotels. An observation in some of the hotels in Zimbabwe shows that they are forming green teams to harness the latest sustainable hotel ideas. Ncube says, the involvement of the hotel employees gives them a sense of ownership of green strategies, and more commitment to long-term adoption strategies.

“Employees are an important asset in greening hotels, induct them and always recognise their efforts through different motivational packages. Organizational citizenship behaviours for the environment is stronger when hotels are managed by hands-on management,” Ncube says.

Zimbabwe became the first country in Africa to embrace the green tourism concept, an idea which was conceived in 2014. This was as a result of recommendations from the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) which was co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia in 2013. The government implored the tourism sector to start implementing the project. The pilot project was launched in the resort city of Victoria Falls in 2016.

Some of the cited best practises on green hotels are minimizing usage of water and generation of waste water. Environmentalists note that, while guests are entirely in control of how much water they use in their rooms, the hotel can encourage them to consider using water more mindfully, measures and techniques can be introduced to ensure water management by guests. Reducing plastic throughout the hotel has been said to have potential to reduce millions of tonnes of plastic ending up in oceans every day. Prudence Moyo, another environmentalist says reducing the use of plastic products in hotels has far reaching benefits in creating an eco-friendly environment.

Moyo explains that, greening involves, water and energy efficiency in hotels, hotels switching to wooden key cards and e-processing of most of the paperwork, thus hotels must embrace technology and be eco-conscious.

“Looking at hotels on a larger scale, one may notice that there are changes that could be made to the setup making it more environmentally friendly and giving guests the natural feel of the environment. Replacing metal beams with natural materials such as dark hardwood, or even creating a living plant wall to bring a burst of green into the lobby space can enhance the space,” Moyo says.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), more than 1.2 billion jobs depend on a stable environment and ecosystems. The Green Initiative aims to scale up the ILO’s knowledge, policy response and capacity to manage a just transition toward greener economies and a sustainable future.

Experts add that it is necessary to provide yearly staff training on green practices throughout the buildings and grounds and post information in break rooms and guest areas. Greening hotels include the planting of a wildlife habitat on the property. Basic elements include fresh water like bird bath; plants and feeders that provide nourishment for birds, insects, and rocks, trees, bushes and bird houses for shelter and nesting.

Green Tourism Award Holders in Zimbabwe are Somalisa (Hwange National Park) in Gold category, Ilala lodge (Silver), and Victoria Falls hotel in Bronze. Many other hotels join in the three categories.